Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Italian Beauty

I often drive past this intriguing gate, slowing a bit to try and sneak a peek at the mystery villa beyond the garden maze, obscured by trees. A little sleuthing revealed that the Florentine palazzo-inspired home was built in 1916 as a winter residence for Dr. John S. Tanner of Chicago. How could he ever go back to the hectic windy city after spending the holidays strolling around this dreamy spot? Known as the Tanner-Behr House, it was also dubbed Villa Arno by another owner. (I personally call it Villa Incognito, for obvious reasons.) By any name, it's sweet.

39 comments:

I love the artichoke shaped finials at the top of each column. It almost looks as if it should be a public park where children can wander through labyrinth hedges and parents can sit atop ornately adorned concrete benches to catch a few pages of their favorite novel while the children play.

You could have gotten inside the yard several years ago, AH, had you attended the South Pasadena Education Foundation (SPEF) annual fundraiser dinner that was held here. SPEF is a non-profit that raises tons of money to support the schools. They have an annual party in the Spring called Parti Gras. The past two years it's been at the Arroyo Seco Golf course, but before that it was held in the gardens of different estate homes in town. Not only is Parti Gras a great party for a great cause, but when it was at homes, it was an opportunity to see some of South Pasadena's treasures.

The owners of this house (he's a well known fashion designer) opened it to SPEF in 2002. The gardens are spectaular. Guests only got to go through the foyer and not the entire house, but it is a true showcase.

I used to ride my bike past here a few eons ago. I too wondered what went on behind the gate and several times just stood at the gate looking in. No one ever bothered me---I suppose even then there were video cameras.

Judy---for something like that to happen, you'd need to go East a bit to San Marino and Lacy Park. SoPas has open parks designed for more rough and tumble fun than staid parents sitting on concrete benches watching their children play.

Lacy Park is wonderful -- but it reminds me of that M. Night Shamalan movie The Village. It's like this bizarre pastoral setting walled off from the world! I had no idea how big it was, so the first time my family went there we were amazed that such a place existed. I love to go there to read the names of all the unusual trees planted there.

Altadenahiker, I think you should definitely tumble in to this villa!

Yak, I don't think you'd get the whole class thing if you saw this place. It's nestled in a very accessible, homey neighborhood, like so many of South Pasadena's historical homes. No big gated community, no signs about guard dogs. In fact, down the same alley that this gate faces are some wonderful old simple wood frame houses. Similarly, all the big Green and Green homes on the north side of town are out in the open, scattered among smaller homes, near a lot of apartment buildings.

BTW, Yak... what you can do with a third floor balcony garden is nothing short of supernatural! And the cuttings you root for me are always the heartiest plants in my garden. (Speaking of which, hint hint...)

Mr. Earl - the Mayor at the time of the SPEF party didn't buy a ticket in advance. It always sells out. He showed up with his wife prepared to buy two tickets and was told it was sold out. He said, "but i'm the mayor!" The woman said, "doesn't matter, you don't have a ticket." The mayor and his wife left.

I used to go to Lacy park in the late 50's when there were no fences, gates, and it was open to everyone. It was the nicest park I've ever seen. I'd ride my bike there and race around the outer paths. Since they installed the fences and gates and created a sense of exclusion, it's no longer the same. Parks should be open for everyone and the more people that use them the better.

I've never been to Lacy Park...sounds like a day trip waiting to happen!!! Fortunately for me, I was also at that SPEF Parti Gras...Richard Tyler is the designer/homeowner...It was a lovely setting for the event, and I certainly did my share of imaginating myself curled up in a spot by a fireplace sipping a glass of wine deep in conversation or reading a book...ah, the good life!!!And the homeowners couldn't have been nicer or more generous...

If I remember correctly LA, they have sold samples of his clothing each year at SPEF...better buy a ticket...you won't regret it...it's a great party and a great cause!!! (Have you ever heard the Greatful Dads play their rock n roll??? they're great and generally the entertainment!!!)

I'm completely confused as how the discussion of Lacy Park came into this but.... Lacy Park, fence or not, is the most beautiful park in the San Gabriel valley. Like or hate it's politics, I dare you to come up with a park that compares. Yes, it was as swamp. The landfill from Cal Tech was brought over to fill it in (thats a true story AH). If there is enough rain the center will actually take on water.

This house pictured; Back in the 70/80's you never saw a soul except for the gardening crew. It was immaculately kept then as is now.I spent my summers at the house directly across the street on Grand. Back then it was owned by race track people who would leave for Del Mar over the summer. Friend Cathi did the house sitting. We hung out by the pool all day. That's where I read "The World According to Garp" ....just rambling

Agreed that Lacy Park is the most beautiful in the SGV. But it was even more so before the fence and gates went up and it was filled with families who didn't have to show their ID to get in without paying an admission charge.

folks, it was entirely MY fault, getting Lacy Park into this fray. Eddy Park now, maybe, but "back in the day, it was more homey and SoPas'y than Lacy ever was. Lacy reminded me of my godparents yard, huge and stately, don't touch anything. All the SoPas parks are hands on, play all out and have fun. Lacy was, when I was a kid, a place to hang out all afternoon and play on the fire engine, or hide in the bushes and trees while my parents napped, read, talked and sipped wine. Sure, sometimes there were a lot of folks, but, like Central Park, you expect that on a nice day. I spent many a summer day in Lacy at Y camp but spent more evenings at Garfield or Arroyo, or OG. k, making me feel old now.

PAdjacent...Garp? wow...bet they didn't let you take THAT out of the SoPas library!;-)

Follow Glimpses of South Pasadena by Email

Laurie Allee

Writer. Photographer. Mom.

The History of Glimpses

In December of 2007, after many years on the west side of Los Angeles (and at least a third of those years spent stuck in traffic on Pico Boulevard) my family settled into a happy little house in South Pasadena. This daily blog covered over 4 year as I put down roots in my new home town.

My New Blog -- LA: Other

LA: Other. Inside the City ... Outside the Box. Check Out LA Stories, Photos and Video on My New Blog Launching September, 2014.

Prints Available at Redbubble

Check out my multimedia column archive: Views from the Front Porch

Published at Patch.

Elsewhere...

July, 2014: It's been a long haitus but I'm ready to get back to my blogging roots! My new blog LA: Otheris officially launching in September. This blog will be very similar to Glimpses, but will include all of Southern California as a subject, not just my beloved back yard. I am also going to post video pieces as well as still photography. (And, of course, my usual commentary.) Also, as much as I love daily blogging, LA: Other stories require more time so I'll be posting regularly but not every day. Hope to see you all there.

Thank you Charlie's Coffee House for hosting my photo exhibit, South Pas: Observed. From October 2011 through January 2012 my pictures graced the walls of the best place in town to get a cup of coffee!

Read the nifty story on photo bloggers Petrea Burchard, Ben Wideman, Kat Likkel and little old me featured in the September, 2011 issue of Pasadena Magazine.

About This Blog

The thumbnail view:

For over 4 years, I presented a picture a day from South Pasadena, California -- an incorporated city within the greater Los Angeles metropolitan area. All photos up to November, 2008 were taken with a Fujifilm Finepix E900 camera. I added a Fujifilm Finepix S2000HD megazoom in December 2008, a Nikon D3100 in 2010 and a Lumix DMC-DS8 in 2011. I shot with them all. In August 2010 I joined the iPhone camera craze and sometimes included pictures captured by my phone. I regularly cropped images and used basic editing software to adjust the brightness, intensify the contrast, and increase color saturation. Other than that, all images came straight from the camera with minimal alteration. (If I couldn't have done it in a darkroom, I wouldn't do it with a computer.)

The bigger picture:

Consider it a love letter to the place I call home.

You can click on any picture to see a larger version.

All photos and prose on this blog copyright Laurie Allee. Reproduction without written permission is prohibited. (Plus, it's really uncool.)

Who Reads This Blog?

Yes, I'm on Twitter

And on Instagram

And Building my YouTube Channel

Great Books by Local Bloggers

Novel lovers, look out! Everybody's favorite San Gabriel Valley daily photoblogger Petrea Burchard takes us on a journey back to King Arthur's 'hood in her wonderful debut novel Camelot and Vine. (If you don't fall madly in love with her smart-ass narrator, you definitely deserve to be put into an iron maiden.) Be sure to keep up with Petrea at her legendary blog, Pasadena Daily Photo, AKA: Living Vicuriously.

And while we're on the subject of great takes on old themes, be sure to pick up a copy of Margaret Finnegan's delightful debut novel, The Goddess Lounge -- undoubtedly the kookiest, most wonderful riff on Homer's Odyssey ever written. Margaret never ceases to inspire and make us laugh at her blog Finnegan Begin Again. Her book is magical, silly, smart and a wonderful love letter to the all the goddesses among us.

Kevin McCollister of East of West LA blows our minds with haunting images of Los Angeles. But since we can't put his blog on our coffee table, we can buy his fantastic book. I believe Kevin's images truly capture the quixotic and often heartbreaking soul of LA. Don't take my word for it, see what The LA Times had to say.